Roald Dahl is to children's literature what war veterans like Hemingway or Vonnegut are to adult fiction. Where Roald Dahl stands out from the rest is his imaginative mind. Roald Dahl's books often take you on a trip of a lifetime and kids just adore his empathetic, yet quirky characters. Most of our readers already are Roald Dahl fans, or at least know enough about him. However, next year (2016) marks Roald Dahl's birth centenary and we thought we would make a special post that would sum up his life, times and his major works. Expanding our view a little more would help not only kids who read themselves, but parents who make reading decisions for kids as well. Here goes, then!
Roald Dahl was born in Wales. His parents were Norwegian immigrants to England and in the prime of his youth, he was thrown into the turmoil of World War II. He served in various capacities in Royal Air Force and even carried out a brief stint in the intelligence wing. Being a war veteran certainly changed his life view and Roald Dahl rose to extreme fame and fortune as a very popular children't books writer. Having received a number of accolades for his literary accomplishments, he is regarded as one of the finest storytellers of the 20th century.
Best of Roald Dahl characters and books
Perhaps the best known of Roald Dahl's work (perhaps due to a blockbuster eponymous movie), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an old fashioned take of adventure and curiosity. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the most mouth watering of the fantasy tales that ask kids to hang their beliefs in suspensions and go on a merry ride with Charlie Bucket and his four lucky friends who won a big time ticket to Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory.
What follows is the ultimate showdown of chocolate-y fantasies, unique and quirky characters and a whole lot of sweet taste in your mind. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out why kids love Roald Dahl so much.
You can buy an exquisitely bound hardcover that's a perfect gift for any kid from here. Also, a great Audible recording of this sweet tale is available here, at a discounted price for our readers. What do ya wait for, then?
This books takes all the things that most of us (and most of the kids to come, as well) dislike about childhood, and magically turns them all into a very affectionate story.
Matilda, a normal girl with strict and boorish parents wants to go to school. She teaches herself reading and writing by looking at newspapers and magazines. Her first day at school though, isn't quite what she expected. She meets a very villainous teacher, Miss Truchbull, and it takes all the genius, intelligence and sweetness of Matilda to save her school from this obnoxious teacher.
Matilda, as many would agree, is the cutest kid ever. The story itself is a worthy read and considering that this is the last ever famous work from Roald Dahl makes it a special one.
You can buy Matilda from Amazon by following this link. An exquisite Audible recording with multiple narrators is available (with handsome discounts, as ever) here.
You can also buy the famous classic movie to go with the books from here.
Roald Dahl never quite tried to deal with too many animal stories, but Fantastic Mr. Fox is a great story of wit, wryness and redemption.
This is a story of a very cunning fox, very aptly named Fantastic Mr. Fox, who has been a little naughty and been stealing stuff from surrounding farms. What would the farmers do and with whose help? These are the questions kids would love to find answers for by themselves.
Fantastic Mr. Fox, unlike two other works mentioned above, is a story that comes closest to real life, despite a fox being at the center stage.
Get a hardcover copy for your little ones here. An Audible audio book is available here, with some added vignettes. If you are not an Audible member, check out the banner ad to the right of this review to join for FREE, and get any two audiobooks of your choice available for download, right away!
Please let us know what you think of our Roald Dahl special entry.
